Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"The Lord spoke to Moses in the Desert of Sinai in the first month of the second year after they came out of Egypt. He said, "Have the Israelites celebrate the Passover at the appointed time. Celebrate it at the appointed time, at twilight on the fourteenth day of this month, in accordance with all its rules and regulations." So Moses told the Israelites to celebrate the Passover, and they did so in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. The Israelites did everything just as the Lord commanded Moses. But some of them could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body. So they came to Moses and Aaron that same day and said to Moses, "We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord's offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?" Moses answered them, "Wait until I find out what the Lord commands concerning you." Then the Lord said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: 'When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the Lord's Passover. They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations. But if a man who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not present the Lord's offering at the appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin. " 'An alien living among you who wants to celebrate the Lord's Passover must do so in accordance with its rules and regulations. You must have the same regulations for the alien and the native-born.' " Numbers 9:1-14
Up to this point in scripture, we have seen God mandating many rules and regulations for the way He expected the Israelites to live and worship. And He has been uncompromising when it comes to adherence to these guidelines because He expected the utmost obedience from His people. He did so then and He still does today.
So as we start Chapter 9 of Numbers and the Passover is addressed, we would expect the Lord’s expectations to be strictly by the book when it comes to observance of this sacred day on the Israelite worship calendar. What we find is that God does expect obedience to His commands but is also a God of grace and reason…a God who shows us that the essence of worship is more important than a legalistic adherence to law.
The chapter begins as if there are no problems. The Lord tells Moses to celebrate the Passover at the appointed time which was designated as "twilight on the fourteenth day of this month". He expected the Passover to be conducted "in accordance with all its rules and regulations." And scripture tells us that the people of Israel did as the Lord commanded, celebrating Passover "in the Desert of Sinai at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month" and doing "everything just as the Lord commanded Moses."
But a problem arose on this Passover day. Scripture tells us that "some of them (the Israelites) could not celebrate the Passover on that day because they were ceremonially unclean on account of a dead body." The affected people came to Moses and Aaron saying, "We have become unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be kept from presenting the Lord's offering with the other Israelites at the appointed time?" Their request is awesome in that they have a longing to celebrate and worship the Lord while observing the Passover. It is their passion for worship that will be one of the factors in God’s decision as Moses tells the people that he would ask the Lord concerning their question.
So Moses goes before the Lord with the request from the people. God could have said, "My commands are My commands. They are unclean and cannot partake in the Passover. I am the Lord!" But we know God is a God of mercy and grace…a God who seeks the hearts of His children and can see their motives and desires. It’s obvious that God had done just that with those who were making the request because He said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites: 'When any of you or your descendants are unclean because of a dead body or are away on a journey, they may still celebrate the Lord's Passover. They are to celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month at twilight. They are to eat the lamb, together with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They must not leave any of it till morning or break any of its bones. When they celebrate the Passover, they must follow all the regulations." In His words, God not only make accommodations for those who may have inadvertently become unclean on the Passover but also those who had been away on travel. In either instance, the Passover could be celebrated one month after the prescribed Passover day (in other words, a second Passover celebration could be held) but God makes it clear that all regulations that would have applied to the prescribed day must also be followed on the second Passover. In the end, God made sure that worship and celebration was available to all who wished to worship to include "an alien living among you" although the alien had to have been first circumcised before participating in the Passover feast (Exodus 12:48). Worship was also available to the non-Israelites who had come to believe and trust in the God of Israel.
Our verses today truly show that we serve a reasonable Father…One who sees the faithful desires of a believer’s heart and wishes to ensure that every believer has a chance to celebrate in worship unto Him.
And He does expect us to worship for note His words about a person who can worship but chooses not to:
"But if a man who is ceremonially clean and not on a journey fails to celebrate the Passover, that person must be cut off from his people because he did not present the Lord's offering at the appointed time. That man will bear the consequences of his sin." verse 13
God is a God of grace but He still is a God who expects our reverence and respect. And we can’t show our respect for Him any more than when we chose to worship Him, either personally or collectively in a church setting. And why wouldn’t we worship this God who has given us so much?
In fact, everything we have is His to include the time that we’re taking up right now…me writing this and you soon to read it. Life itself is a gift and each breath of air we take in is a breath of grace and mercy from the Lord. Without breath, we don’t live. And without His grace and mercy, we don’t live either now or in the here after.
Question: Do you see everything you have in life to include every breath that you breathe as a gift from God? Do you look for opportunities to worship Him in every second of every minute of every hour of every day? For He is blessing you to that level…He is loving you to that level…and He is watching over you to that level. Truly, all praise, honor and glory should be given with every breath we take to the Father…our reasonable Father in Heaven who gave us everything in His Son Jesus and continues to give us everything today. Thanks be to God!
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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